Gusto is good payroll and it has time tracking of its own, so the first question is not how to connect a time clock to Gusto. It is whether you need one. This page answers that first, fairly, and then shows exactly what the ClockOut export file contains and how the upload works if the answer is yes.
When Gusto’s own time tracking is enough
Gusto includes time tracking on its higher plans rather than its entry plan, and for a lot of teams it is genuinely all they need. Hours entered there flow straight into the payroll run with no file to move, which is one fewer step than anything on this page.
Stay with Gusto’s own time tracking if:
- Everyone works in one place and you are not worried about where a punch came from.
- Your team is mostly salaried or trusted-hourly, and hours are more a record than a control.
- Nobody publishes a weekly shift schedule, or the schedule lives somewhere that already works.
- You are on a Gusto plan that includes it and you would rather have one login than a better clock.
Look at a separate time clock when:
- People work off-site. Job sites, client homes, multiple stores. You want a GPS stamp and a geofence that stops a punch from the parking lot two towns over.
- You publish a schedule. Shifts, open shifts, swaps, availability and time off all in the app your team already opens to clock in.
- Overtime is a cost you manage. Alerts before someone crosses the threshold, daily and weekly rules, break enforcement, rounding.
- Half your team has no laptop. Phone-first, or a tablet kiosk by the door with a QR badge for people who do not want an app on their own phone.
- You want the clock separate from payroll. If you leave Gusto, your time records and your schedule stay put.
Exporting hours from ClockOut into Gusto
- 01
Clear exceptions and approve timesheets
Missed clock-outs, late arrivals, short breaks and overtime all show up in the exception inbox for the period. Resolve or accept each one, then approve timesheets. Anything left unresolved is the usual reason a total looks wrong later.
- 02
Create the pay run and lock it
Use your configured period (weekly, every two weeks, every four weeks or monthly) or set any custom date range. Locking freezes the numbers, and an unlock after that is recorded in the audit log with who did it.
- 03
Download the Gusto file
On the locked run, choose Gusto. The file downloads as
payroll_gusto_2026-09-01_2026-09-14.csv, with one row per employee and the period dates on each row. - 04
Upload it in Gusto
The path documented in our payroll export guide is Run Payroll, then Import Hours, then Upload File. Gusto suggests a column mapping and the defaults usually land correctly, because the header names match what it expects.
- 05
Add leave, then check the preview
Enter any paid time off and holiday hours in Gusto, since those columns come out as zero. Gusto then previews gross pay: compare it with the ClockOut pay run summary before you submit. Matching within a dollar is normal rounding; anything larger is worth finding first.
What is in the Gusto file
One row per employee for the whole pay period, with a header row on top. Hours are decimal, so 7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75.
| What goes in it | |
|---|---|
| Employee Email | The employee's ClockOut email. This is what Gusto matches on, so it must match the email in Gusto. |
| Employee Name | Full name as entered in ClockOut. |
| Pay Period Start | The pay run start date, on every row. |
| Pay Period End | The pay run end date, on every row. |
| Regular Hours | Decimal hours below the overtime threshold, after unpaid breaks and any rounding rule. |
| Overtime Hours | Decimal overtime hours from your weekly threshold and any daily rule you turned on. |
| Holiday Hours | Always 0.00. Enter holiday pay in Gusto. |
| PTO Hours | Always 0.00. Enter approved leave in Gusto. |
| Additional Earnings | A dollar amount, not hours: break premiums, predictability pay and manual pay adjustments from the pay run. |
What the Gusto file does not carry
- Double time as its own column. Regular and overtime only. If you run daily double time rules, those hours are in the ClockOut pay run CSV and go into Gusto separately.
- Paid leave. The holiday and PTO columns exist for Gusto’s benefit but export as zero. Balances live in the ClockOut PTO tracker and are keyed into Gusto with the rest of your leave decisions.
- Tips. ClockOut tracks tips for reporting on Starter and Pro, but tips are not in the export file. They are entered in payroll, where the tax treatment lives.
Built for teams of 10 to 50
Ten to fifty people is the size where a spreadsheet stops being charming and a full workforce management suite is absurd. Nobody at that size has an HR department or wants an implementation call. ClockOut assumes one owner or office manager runs payroll, that most of the team never opens a laptop, and that setup fits in an afternoon.
Gusto handles the money side of exactly this kind of business, so the pairing is common: Gusto for payroll and benefits, ClockOut for punches, schedules, overtime and time off. More on the clock itself in time and attendance system.
On the roadmap, not shipped
A direct Gusto payroll push is written in the codebase and switched off, because turning it on needs a Gusto partner account that ClockOut does not have yet. There is no date to promise, so treat the CSV upload as how this works, and anything else as a bonus if it arrives.
Gusto time tracking FAQ
Does Gusto have a time clock?
Yes. Gusto includes time tracking on its higher plans, and employees can clock in from Gusto rather than a separate app. Hours flow straight into the payroll run. It is the simpler option if your team works in one place, and it is thinner than a dedicated time clock on GPS, geofencing, kiosk mode, scheduling and overtime control.
Does ClockOut connect to Gusto?
Not by API. ClockOut produces a CSV in Gusto’s import format that you upload in Gusto in about a minute, once per pay period. A direct push exists in the codebase but is switched off pending a Gusto partner account, so plan on the file upload.
How do I import a timesheet into Gusto?
Lock the pay period in ClockOut, download the Gusto CSV, then in Gusto choose Run Payroll, Import Hours, Upload File. The header names match what Gusto expects, so the suggested column mapping usually needs no changes. Check the gross pay preview against the ClockOut pay run summary before submitting.
Why are the PTO and holiday hours zero in the file?
Because ClockOut exports worked hours, and paid leave is a pay decision rather than a punch. The columns are there because Gusto expects them in the layout. Take approved leave from the ClockOut time off balances and enter it in Gusto alongside anything else the payroll run needs.
What does ClockOut cost next to Gusto's time tracking?
ClockOut is $0 for up to 2 active employees, $19 a month for up to 5 people on Starter (then $3 each), and $39 a month for up to 5 on Pro (then $6 each), with a 14-day free trial. Pro is the plan with pay runs and the Gusto export format, so a 15-person team pays $99 a month. Gusto prices its own time tracking as part of a plan upgrade, so compare that upgrade against this and against what the GPS, scheduling and kiosk features are worth to you.
Related pages
- All payroll exports: every format, what it carries and which plan it needs.
- ADP export and QuickBooks export: the other two formatted files.
- Time and attendance system: punches, approvals, overtime and reporting.
- Exporting payroll to ADP, Gusto and QuickBooks: the pre-export checklist and the four common failure modes.
- How to run weekly payroll in 30 minutes: the Friday routine end to end.
- PTO tracker: where the paid leave numbers come from.
- Pricing: current plans and checkout.